Hi, everyone.

Hi, everyone. Now before I begin, I am going to give you all a head's up and let you know this is not going to be the typical article that you are probably used to reading here, but bear with me...I have quite the story to tell.

My name is Amy Temple and I have learning disabilities.

I was diagnosed when I was 5 years old, but before that, a few members of the medical community sure did try to figure out what was wrong with me.

I mean...there had to be something!

I had a pediatrician who thought that I might be uneducable because of my incessant crying.

A psychologist came out after a session so astounded. "Do you know Amy doesn't know what a frankfurter is?"

My mother said, "That's because we have always called them hot dogs."

It was through an IQ test that my learning disabilities were discovered.

Then there were the affirmations...

• Amy will not amount to much because of her learning disabilities.
• Amy will always need some kind of assistance in taking care of herself.

And it goes on and on and on.

I was blessed to have wonderful, supportive grandparents, and I could not have asked for a better set of parents.

If I didn't have them, I don't know where I would be. There were times I didn't feel too good about myself and they were all there, showing me their love and support.

After high school graduation and receiving a couple of secretarial certifications from a local vocational training center, I tried to find employment for several years, but all I could find was a couple of temp jobs and internships. I was always told at the end there might be an opening but there never was.

I have ended up going the self-employed route and have been in the dog care field for the past 12 years.

This has helped me be able to pursue a writing career.

It has taken me a while to decide what I want to do, but I have finally decided.

I want to inspire people.

I want to make them feel good.

And that's what I want to do here...

I want to spend each month with you to show you what life is really like living with learning disabilities.

For those of you who are like me, I hope I can inspire you to continue living.

You are just as worthy, no matter what anyone else might say or do to you.

Society has all these ridiculous rules and regulations for us as human beings. We have to be a certain size. We have to have the right kind of job and live in the right kind of neighborhood.

The list gets bigger and bigger.

Then if you don't meet these requirements, then you are in serious trouble.

Quite frankly, I don't really don't care what other people think about me.

I am who I am.

My name is Amy Temple and I have learning disabilities.

Nice to meet you.